Bacterial Structure,

Growth, and
Metabolism
Dr. Stephen Jo T. Bonilla
OBJECTIVES & LEARNING
OUTCOMES:

After reading this section, the student should be able

to:

1. Define related terms

2. Identify & understand the structural parts of
bacteria
3. Correlate the bacterial structural parts with their
function(s)
OBJECTIVES & LEARNING
OUTCOMES:

After reading this section, the student should be able

to:

4. Understand bacterial growth, metabolism, and

reproduction
5. Identify factors that affect bacterial growth,
metabolism, & reproduction
 2 Basic Types of
Microorganisms

Prokaryotic (Before – nucleus)

Eukaryotic (True – nucleus)

 Prokaryotes

include the bacteria and cyanobacteria

which were formerly classified as blue-
green algae.
They possess a simple make-up that
does not contain sub-cellular organelles.
The typical size of a prokaryote is about
1um diameter.
Archaebacteria and Eubacteria
 Eukaryotes

possess a complex cellular structure.

- contain membrane-bound
organelles such as mitochondria,
lysosomes, endoplasmic reticulum
and golgi bodies.
 2 Kinds Of Cells

Eukaryotic – cells with a well-defined

nucleus
Prokaryotic – cells without a nucleus
 2 Kinds Of Cells

Eukaryotic – cells with a well-defined

nucleus
Prokaryotic – cells without a nucleus
All bacteria are prokaryotes
 2 Kinds Of Cells

Eukaryotic – cells with a well-defined

nucleus
Prokaryotic – cells without a nucleus
All bacteria are prokaryotes
Unorganized DNA (single
double-stranded molecule)
 Cell Envelope

Term applied to all material external to

and enclosing the cytoplasm
 Cell Envelope

It consists of several chemically and

functionally distinct layers, the most
prominent of which are the cell wall
and the cytoplasmic membrane
 Cell Envelope

Also includes the capsule or glycocalyx,

if present
 Cell Envelope

Cytoplasmic Membrane
- Phospholipid w/c form 2 parallel
surfaces (lipid bilayer)
 Cell Envelope

Cytoplasmic Membrane
- Polar phosphate groups - outside
- Nonpolar lipid chains are - inside
 Cell Envelope

Cytoplasmic Membrane
- Acts as permeability barrier,
restricting molecules that enter and
leave the cell
 Cell Wall

Peptidoglycan
- Determines the shape of the cell
 Cell Wall

Peptidoglycan
- Composed of a cross-linked
polymeric mesh
 Cell Wall

Peptidoglycan
- Glycan – linear
polymer of
alternating
monosaccharide
subunits
(backbone)
 Cell Wall
Peptidoglycan
- Glycan – linear
polymer of
alternating
monosaccharide
subunits
(backbone)
- Peptido – short
string of AA
forming a network
w/ high tensile
strength
Difference b/w Gram(+)
& Gram(-) Cell Walls
Gram(+) Bacteria Cell
Wall
Thick, multilayered, peptidoglycan cell
walls that are exterior to the cytoplasmic
(plasma) membrane
Gram(+) Bacteria Cell
Wall
The peptidoglycan in most gram(+) species is
covalently linked to teichoic acid, which is
essentially a polymer of substituted glycerol
units linked by phosphodiester bonds
Gram(+) Bacteria Cell
Wall
Teichoic acids are major cell surface
antigens & are integrated into the
peptidoglycan layers but not tethered to
the cytoplasmic membrane
Gram(+) Bacteria Cell
Wall
Lipoteichoic acids are lipid modified and
integrated by this moiety into the outer
leaflet of the cytoplasmic membrane
Gram(-) Bacteria Cell
Wall
 Gram(-) Bacteria Cell
Wall
More complex cell wall structure composed of
2 membranes (an outer membrane and a
periplasmic membrane/space) (inner
membrane = cytoplasmic / plasma membrane)
 Gram(-) Bacteria Cell
Wall
The 2 membranes are separated by periplasmic
space, w/c contains the peptidoglycan layer
The periplasmic space also contains degradative
enzymes and transport proteins
 Gram(-) Bacteria Cell
Wall
The peptidoglycan layer of gram(-) cells is
thin, and cells are consequently more
susceptible to physical damage
 Gram(-) Bacteria Cell
Wall
The outer membrane is distinguished by the
presence of embedded lipopolysaccharide
(LPS) that is the major constituent of the
outer leaflet of the outer membrane
 Gram(-) Bacteria Cell
Wall
The polysaccharide portion of LPS
(O-polysaccharide) is antigenic and can,
therefore, be used to identify different
strains and species
 Gram(-) Bacteria Cell
Wall
The lipid portion (lipid A) is imbedded in
the membrane and is toxic to humans and
animals
It is called endotoxin
 Cell Wall
External Capsule and
Glycocalyx
- sticky, viscous, slime
material that forms an
extracellular coating around
the cell – glycocalyx
- allows cells to adhere to
surfaces, protect bacteria
from antibodies &
phagocytosis
 Cell Wall

External Capsule and Glycocalyx

- Capsules can also protect bacteria against
dessication, or drying, which facilitates
transmission
 Cell Wall

Appendages
- Flagella
- Pili
 Flagella

Long, semirigid, helical, hollow tubular

structures composed of several thousand
molecules of the protein flagellin
 Flagella

Enable bacteria to move in a directed

fashion
 Flagella

Anchored in the
cell membranes by
a basal body, which
is a complex
molecular machine
that rotates the
flagellum like the
screw propeller of
a ship
 Flagella

Cells may have one or many flagella.

Highly antigenic
 Pili (Fimbriae)

Shorter and thinner than flagella and

function as attachment structures that
promote specific cell-to-cell contact
 Pili (Fimbriae)

The attachment can be between the

bacterial cell and the host eukaryotic cell
or between one bacterial cell and another
 Spores & Sporulation

To enhance survival during periods of

environmental hostility (such as
nutritional deprivation), some
gram-positive rods undergo profound
structural and metabolic changes
 Spores & Sporulation

These result in the formation of a dormant

cell called an endospore inside the original
cell
 Spores & Sporulation

Endospores can be released from the

original cell as free spores
 Spores & Sporulation

Spores are the most resistant life forms

known
 Spores & Sporulation

Spores are the most resistant life forms

known
They are remarkably resistant to heat (they
survive boiling), desiccation, ultraviolet
light, and bactericidal chemical agents
 Spores & Sporulation

Spores are the most resistant life forms

known
They are remarkably resistant to heat (they
survive boiling), desiccation, ultraviolet
light, and bactericidal chemical agents
In fact, sterilization procedures are
assessed by their ability to inactivate
spores
 Sporulation

Repackaging a copy of bacterial DNA

into a new form that
- contains very little water
- no metabolic activity
- does not divide
- has a restructured, highly
impermeable, multilayered envelope
 Sporulation

Begins with the invagination of the

parent cell membrane, producing a
double membrane that encapsulates
and isolates a copy of the bacterial DNA
in what will become the core of the
spore
 Sporulation

Mature spore retains the complete

machinery for protein synthesis, and
new spore-specific enzymes are
synthesized in the core of the spore
 Sporulation

The core also has high levels of a

unique compound called calcium
dipicolinate, which is thought to be
important for protection of the spore
DNA from environmental damage
 Sporulation

Many enzymes of the original vegetative

(non-dividing) cell are degraded
When the endospore is completed, the
parent cell lyses, releasing the spore
Medical Significance of
Sporulation
Some of the most notorious pathogens
are spore-formers, including:
- B. anthracis
- Bacillus cereus (gastroenteritis)
- Clostridium tetani
- Clostridium botulinum
- Clostridium perfringens (gas gangrene)
- Clostridium difficile
Medical Significance of
Sporulation

Spores of these organisms can

remain viable for many years and are
generally not killed by boiling, but
they can be killed by autoclaving
(temps > 120oC at elevated pressure)
Medical Significance of
Sporulation

In the absence of an autoclave,

spores can be largely eliminated by a
primary boiling to activate
germination and, after a short period
of vegetative growth, a second
boiling
Growth and Metabolism
Growth and Metabolism

All cells must accomplish certain

metabolic tasks to grow and divide
All cells, whether bacterial or human,
accomplish these metabolic tasks by
similar pathways
Growth and Metabolism

There are, however, some important

differences that set bacteria apart
metabolically from eukaryotic cells
Characteristics of
Bacterial Growth
 Characteristics of
Bacterial Growth
If bacterial cells are suspended in a
liquid nutrient medium, the increase in
cell number or mass can be measured in
several ways
 Characteristics of
Bacterial Growth

Techniques include:
- microscopically counting the cells
in a given volume using a ruled slide
 Characteristics of
Bacterial Growth

Techniques include:
- microscopically counting the cells
in a given volume using a ruled slide
- counting the number of
appropriately diluted cells that are
able to form colonies following
transfer to a solid nutrient (agar)
surface
 Characteristics of
Bacterial Growth
Techniques include:
- quantitating the turbidity—which is
proportional to the cell mass—of a
culture in liquid medium
Stages of Bacterial
Growth Cycle
 Stages of Bacterial
Growth Cycle
Because bacteria
reproduce by
binary fission (1
becomes 2, 2
become 4, 4
become 8, etc.), the
number of cells
increases
exponentially with
time (the
exponential, or log,
phase of growth)
 Stages of Bacterial
Growth Cycle
Depending on the species, the minimum
doubling time can be as short as 10 mins or
as long as several days
Ex: for a rapidly growing species such as E.
coli in a nutritionally complete medium, a
single cell can give rise to some 10 million
cells in just 8 hrs
 Stages of Bacterial
Growth Cycle
Eventually,
growth slows and
ceases entirely
(stationary phase)
as nutrients are
depleted, and
toxic waste
products
accumulate
 Stages of Bacterial
Growth Cycle
Most cells in a
stationary phase
are not dead,
however
If they are diluted
into fresh growth
medium,
exponential
growth will
resume after a lag
phase
Energy Production
 Energy Production

A distinctive feature of bacterial

metabolism is the variety of
mechanisms used to generate energy
from carbon sources
 Energy Production
A distinctive feature of bacterial
metabolism is the variety of mechanisms
used to generate energy from carbon
sources
Depending on the biochemical mechanism
used, bacterial metabolism can be
categorized into 3 types:
- aerobic respiration
- anaerobic respiration
- fermentation
 Aerobic Respiration

Metabolic process in which molecular

oxygen serves as the terminal electron
acceptor of the electron transport chain
 Aerobic Respiration

Metabolic process in which molecular

oxygen serves as the terminal electron
acceptor of the electron transport chain
In this process, oxygen is reduced to
water
 Aerobic Respiration

Metabolic process in which molecular

oxygen serves as the terminal electron
acceptor of the electron transport chain
In this process, oxygen is reduced to
water
Respiration is the energy-generating
mode used by all aerobic bacteria
Anaerobic Respiration

Metabolic process in which inorganic

compounds other than molecular
oxygen serve as the terminal electron
acceptors
Anaerobic Respiration

Depending on the species, acceptors

can be molecules such as nitrate or
sulfate
Anaerobic respiration can be used as
an alternative to aerobic respiration
in some species (facultative
organisms), but is obligatory in other
species (some obligate anaerobes)
 Fermentation

Anaerobic process utilized by some

bacterial species
It is the metabolic process by which
an organic metabolic intermediate
derived from a “fermentable”
substrate serves as the final electron
acceptor
 Homework

In a long coupon bond, draw and label the parts of

a bacteria and their corresponding functions.